See Miami's Best Architecture on Two Wheels

Great landmarks are best seen from the street and few cites are as well-suited to a bicycle tour as Miami. What first drew me to Miami — and the reason I opened an office there — is the inventive spirit behind the architecture from the villas that borrow from Venice to hotels that refer to Radio City. Coral Gables has its own special roster of architectural gems, so I constructed this tour imagining I was showing a friend the highlights. Seeing these buildings at your own pace, you will also experience a city whose charm and character are distinct with a sense of place unlike any other.

This Mediterranean Revival building was built in 1926 in the heyday of Coral Gables development and was once the premises of The Miami Daily News, Coral Gables' first newspaper. Typical of the style, it adapts, simplifies, and takes license with traditional architectural forms found in the vernacular architecture of Spain and Italy. The European buildings are constructed of similar materials—clay barrel tile roofs, stucco walls, stone details. Like the buildings it emulates, Café Demetrio has a courtyard, and is a perfect setting for the café's regular line-up of weekend musical performances. Be sure to stop in for coffee before starting the tour.

Ride southwest over to Coral Gables' City Hall at 405 Biltmore Way. Designed by Phineas Paist with artist Denman Fink and completed in 1928, this building is typical of the Mediterranean Revival style favored by many of the first architects in Coral Gables. Note the texture of the coral rock ("coral rock" or "coral limestone" are the local names for the stone, although technically it is oolitic limestone), the colossal Corinthian colonnade facing Coral Way and the perfectly scaled loggias facing Biltmore Way. City Hall is open to the public so step inside to see the impressive interior. The stone stairway was modeled off of one in Cordova, Spain. Capping the stairwell is the interior of the cupola with a painted mural by Denman Fink.

From City Hall, continue pedaling along Coral Way where lush green landscapes surround every house, and monuments and small parks mark important public intersections. Notice the mature live oak trees arching over the street as you ride a few blocks down to 907 Coral Way, the house of Coral Gables' founder, George Merrick. A key landmark in the history of Coral Gables, this house has been painstakingly restored. George Merrick's parents, Solomon and Althea Merrick, purchased the original house and 160-acre site in 1899 and it was Althea Merrick who set about designing an addition to the original structure dating to around 1862. In designing the addition, Althea adopted forms familiar to her from New England such as the second floor Serlian window above the entrance, wood paneled stairway, double-hung windows, and a proportionally large amount of roof to wall. Still, adaptations were made for climatic reasons such as the deep porches for shade and outdoor living, as well as use of the local coral rock for the walls.For public tour schedules, check the city's website or call ahead (305-460-5093).

Ride three blocks south to 2701 De Soto Boulevard and take a dip in the historic Venetian Pool, a public swimming pool that was once a limestone quarry used for George Merrick's house. Built in 1924 by Phineas Paist with Denman Fink, it's the only pool on the National Register of Historic Places. The lookout towers, loggias, and bridge were designed as a tribute to Venice, Italy and are emblematic of the imaginative and romantic style of architecture that gave Coral Gables such a distinct and appealing style and remarkable sense of place. The pool is open to the public and you can visit the City's website for hours of operation.

Riding south along De Soto Boulevard you'll spot more of the parks and monuments (like De Soto Plaza) that are key to Merrick's vision of Coral Gables as a Garden City. At the end of the boulevard is the Biltmore Hotel, designed in 1926 by Shultz & Weaver, New York architects known for their hotels built in the roaring 20s including the Pierre on Fifth Avenue and notable local landmarks like the Freedom Tower in Downtown Miami. The central massing of the hotel, and terminating the end of the boulevard, is the Biltmore's 315-foot campanile. It was modeled on the bell tower of the Seville Cathedral, and is a landmark visible from much of Coral Gables. The architecture is Spanish revival, and the scale is impressive. Upon entering the hotel, guests find themselves in the grand lobby surrounded by double-story Corinthian columns supporting a painted wooden coffered ceiling. The ballroom, known as the Alhambra Room, is worth a quick visit to steal a glimpse of the elaborately ornamented ceiling decorated in an Islamic style. The loggia, located directly behind the entry lobby, is shaded by an arcade of Corinthian columns and surrounds the courtyard filled with potted palms, dining tables, and a bubbling fountain. The hotel pool, the largest in the world upon completion, is shaded on one side with loggias, and in the tower punctuating the end there is the bar serving poolside drinks. The Biltmore embodies the architectural thrust of Coral Gables; it is a blending of architectural elements from Spanish, Moorish, and Italian precedents, starting with a big, bold idea, and adapting it all to the local climate.

Opposite the Biltmore Hotel is the United Church of Christ, the first church in Coral Gables. Built by George Merrick in 1923 to honor his father Solomon, who was a pastor, this church is a flamboyant example of Spanish baroque style architecture. The exuberant doorway and bell tower belie the more simply outfitted interior of the church, which is open for Sunday services and weddings. Visit the church's website for hours.

Take the scenic route south from the United Church of Christ along Granada, passing groupings of 1920s Colonial Revival Houses. Part of Merrick's vision was to populate Coral Gables with neighborhoods of different architectural styles. Take a right on Ponce De Leon Boulevard, and then enter the University of Miami park-like campus on Stanford Drive, which is lined with mature Royal Palms. The Jorge M. Perez Architecture Center is a grouping of new buildings designed by the architect Leon Krier and completed in 2005. Krier, a winner of the prestigious Driehaus Prize, is an internationally renowned practitioner and architectural theorist best known for the master planning of Poundbury in England and Cayala in Guatemala. Krier's designs are sophisticated examples of contemporary traditional architecture—they present traditional architectural forms that respond to the style of George Merrick's Coral Gables while bringing modern imagination and interpretation to Merrick's vision. The University's School of Architecture has a popular lecture series in Glasgow Hall every semester that is open to the public, and the Irvin Korach Gallery frequently exhibits work from their students, faculty, and internationally renowned architects. Visit the School's website for more information.

Riding north along University Drive you are beginning the longest leg of the tour at three-and-a-half miles. Following Ponce de Leon Boulevard to Aragon Avenue, proceed to the Coral Gables Museum at 285 Aragon Avenue. Originally designed as the Police and Fire Station in 1939, this charming Mediterranean Revival building has transformed into the Coral Gables Museum. The Museum's mission is to celebrate the civic arts of architecture, urban design, green planning, and historic and environmental preservation, with a special focus on the history and cultural landscape of Coral Gables. The spare detailing reflects the austerities of the Great Depression and the simplified, incised fluted pilasters on the Aragon entrance show the late 1930s taste for Art Deco style. The limestone impost blocks supporting the flat arches of the original carriage doors, carved in the shape of firemen, are one of the charming details that make the building a local favorite. For current exhibitions and hours, check the Museum's website.

Finally, next door to the Museum, park your bike outside Books & Books, one of the most well-respected independent bookstores in the country. An impeccable 1927 Mediterranean Revival building, the bookstore has original tile floors, a fireplace, beamed ceilings and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with books on every subject. Relax in the open-air courtyard and order a Cortadito (espresso topped with steamed milk) and Cuban sliders at the café, while settling in to enjoy the live music and author events the shop hosts most evenings. Check the bookstore website for the events calendar.

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